


The Save

by Keiko Kirin (sakana17)



Category: The Sting (1973)
Genre: M/M, Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:08:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29274474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakana17/pseuds/Keiko%20Kirin
Summary: Johnny's not happy with a decision he made during their latest con.
Relationships: Henry Gondorff/Johnny Hooker
Comments: 10
Kudos: 14
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 6





	The Save

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dorinda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dorinda/gifts).



> This is a little bonbon for you. I hope you enjoy!

After delivering the envelope of money to the orphans' home — returning it to its rightful owner, and if "Cats" Malloy ever dared pull that dirty trick on Sister Clara and the kids again, woe betide him — Henry and Johnny took a stroll in the comfortable night air. Not too chilly, not too hot, it was the perfect evening for a promenade.

"You're not going to mention it, are you?" Johnny asked with a little slide of his square, handsome jaw. And, jiminy, even in the murk of the evening, his eyes were bright and clear, sparkling like real diamonds but far more precious. 

Henry tipped his head. "Nope. Wasn't planning to."

Johnny pulled his jaw back in line, slightly sucking on a tooth, and nodded. Matter put to rest. 

Except then he sighed heavily and said, "I messed up. I knew Malloy's guy was in the diner across the street. I knew it! Should've kept my eyes on him the whole time. I messed up, Henry, and whatever you wanna do now..." He didn't finish his thought, but that didn't matter because Henry stopped and turned and looked at him under weak, streetlamp light.

"Whatever I wanna do now?" Henry repeated with a huff that pretended to be a laugh. "What does that mean? Kid. Your eyes couldn't be in two places at once. Not unless you're a circus act. You lost sight of Malloy's guy. So what. You saw the cop coming my way and wanted to make sure he didn't notice anything funny. It was quick thinking."

Johnny rested his fists on his hips. "My quick thinking almost got you killed." 

Henry rolled his eyes. "Stop overreacting. I'm fine."

Johnny's eyes narrowed before they softened and he asked, quieter, "How is it, anyway?"

Henry instinctively touched his bruised jaw and winced. "Nothing a little hooch can't cure." At Johnny's flat, unconvinced look, he modified, "Make feel better."

Johnny accepted this but as they resumed their walk, he still looked glum. They took a few steps in silence. Henry gave him a sidelong glance before he patted Johnny's back. 

"Diverting the cop the way you did," he said, "was the luck we needed. Malloy handed over the money. Your ruckus with the cop made him antsy and he hoofed it, giving me time to put the nest egg in a safe place. By the time his goon got to me, whatever suspicions he had, he couldn't prove."

He left his hand there, resting on Johnny's back, and felt his shoulders untense a little. He rubbed his palm back and forth a few times over the cheap wool of Johnny's best suit. He needed better duds, especially if they were going in on that prospect Kid Twist had told them about.

"You saved the whole con."

Johnny met his look. "I did?" 

Johnny knew he did, Henry was certain, but he needed to hear it. Needed to hear it from Henry. And Henry... He needed to say it, he realized. 

"Yeah, you did. You saved the con."

Johnny's smile at him lit up the whole night, as beautiful as gems and gold, and more precious than anything Henry could name. 

He clapped the nape of Johnny’s neck and slowly slid his hand back down to rest between Johnny's shoulders.

"Let's find us that drink, kid," he said with a smile, and they strolled together easily in the perfect night air.


End file.
